LAWRENCE: Hamels said the right stuff amid a national audience

Cole Hamels was one of the first players to exit Kauffman Stadium following Tuesday night's All-Star Game.

It wasn't as if Hamels was trying to duck the non-stop questions regarding his uncertain future in Philadelphia. When he spotted a few local reporters, he stopped, chatted for a few minutes and then asked if there was anything else they needed.

Cole Hamels is handling his contract situation like a pro.

Less than two weeks ago in Miami, Hamels sounded surprised when told he would be bombarded by trade-rumor questions and contract queries at the media circus that is the All-Star Game. After his last start a week ago in New York, Hamels no-commented his way through such questions.

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Then he arrived to Kansas City and showed off both a remarkable business savvy and unshakeable poise. He humored and he enlightened.

Hamels carefully toed the line. In so many words, he let the obvious be known: he holds all of the cards in his current negotiation for a long-term contract with the Phillies.

He also bent over backward to heave compliments on the only major league organization he's known, saying it's his preference to stay and that David Montgomery, Ruben Amaro Jr. and company would get every opportunity to re-sign him, even if he does hit the free-agent market this winter.

He also understand the business he works in includes employers like his current one, an employer that has sold out every game for three years, and an employer that can boast about having the highest TV ratings in baseball in 2011.

With a new television deal on the horizon for the Phillies - the current deal expires in 2015 - advertisers will be ready to pony up more dollars if that trend continues. In the age of the DVR, the live-televised sporting event is king.

Needless to say, spending money shouldn't be a problem.

Hamels, who has gotten into trouble over his career for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, has done quite the opposite lately. He wasn't just careful with the words he used this week in Kansas City, but he was also smart with them.

With the forum to air out the negotiations before a national audience, Hamels didn't break his trust with his agent or his team. But he did drop a few measured comments into his answers.

Rather than demand a six- or seven-year deal, it was: "Being here for seven years, they know what I'm all about, how much I try to give back to the community and how much Philly means to me. Hopefully that will convey over a long period of time."

Instead of telling management and the owners to pony up the cash, Hamels said, "It takes a long time to build up a fan base like they did. Now they have it. You don't ever want to just let it wash away. So I think they're always going to honor that. They're an organization that honors the fans. They understand the fans are what make the organization so great."

Hamels has seen Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley rewarded with long-term contracts to stick in Philadelphia for the long term. He has watched the Phillies trade for or sign some of the game's best pitchers, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Pedro Martinez, in the last four seasons.

Hamels knows the Phillies value homegrown talent and that they put a premium on starting pitching, too.

One way or another, with the Phillies or without, Hamels will get paid. The seven-year, $161 million contract CC Sabathia signed after the 2008 season, a deal that was re-worked into eight years and $181 million last winter, would seem to be a fair estimate on Hamels' rising open market value.

Cole Hamels understands this.

If the Phillies hope to avoid adding a nightmare of a public relations issue to a nightmare of a 2012 season, they should probably understand this, too. Because if they don't warm up to the price of doing business with a 28-year-old ace in his prime, the fallout of the much-criticized Cliff Lee trade of three winters ago will feel like a minor tremor when compared to the aftermath of letting Hamels walk.